Young and in Love
by arysa13
Summary: "Kiss me, my asshole cheating ex is walking this way"


It's the first time Archie has been to visit Betty in New York. Sure, she's been back to Riverdale countless times, and she always makes an effort to see him while she's there. But he figures it's time he's the one to make the effort. It's probably not the best idea, money wise. Especially since money is the whole reason he deferred from college for a year in the first place. But he knows Betty wants him to come. Apparently her new friends are dying to meet him. Which means she talks about him. It pleases him more than it should.

He drives there, which is his first mistake. Driving in Manhattan is a nightmare, and parking is even worse. But if he'd taken the train Betty would have had to meet him at the train station, then get his stuff back to her dorm and then go back in the direction they'd just come from to meet her friends. This way he can just meet her at the bar and then he can drive them back to the dorms.

He parks the car in a very overpriced parking complex and walks a couple of streets to the bar Betty had told him to meet her at. It's after eight and he's running late so he walks as quickly as he can.

Betty spots him as soon as he walks into the bar.

"Archie!" she yells, abandoning her friends and skipping towards him. She throws her arms around him when she reaches him and he feels his heart constrict as he breathes her in.

"Hey," he laughs. She lets him go and beams up at him.

"Hey!" she returns. She clearly tipsy already, the alcohol making her bright and bubbly. Well, she's like that usually, but the alcohol turns it up a little.

Betty grabs his hand and drags him towards her friends. Archie is probably more nervous than he should be.

There are two girls sitting at a table and they look up at Archie with wide grins spread across their faces. He feels like he's the punchline to some joke he never got to hear.

"Guys, this is my Archie," Betty says, not letting go of his hand. _My Archie_. He likes that. He could get used to it.

"The famous Archie," one of the girls says. "Betty talks about you _all_ the time." She holds out her hand for him to shake. To his dismay, Archie has to drop Betty's hand so he can return the handshake.

"I'm Andrea," the girl says. "This is Harriet."

Archie shakes each of their hands in turn.

"Nice to meet you guys," Archie says. He shoves his hands into his jacket pockets, wishing he could take Betty's hand again without it being weird.

"You're cute," Harriet says. "I think you're cuter in person than on your Facebook."

"Did you guys Facebook stalk me?" Archie chuckles.

"Maybe a little," Harriet grins. "Betty, it's your shout, go get the drinks!"

"Yes, Your Highness," Betty pokes her tongue out. She turns to Archie. "I'll be right back. Do you want something?"

"Just a coke. I have to drive."

Betty nods and heads towards the bar. Archie watches her go, and when he turns back to Betty's friends, they're grinning even wider than before.

"Uh… what's going on?" Archie asks. Because he really can't ignore the creepy clown grins.

"Nothing!" Andrea says. "Sit, Archie, sit!"

She pushes a chair out for him and Archie sits down warily.

"You've known Betty a long time, yeah?" Harriet asks.

"Yeah," Archie nods. "Since we were four."

"That's so fucking cute," Andrea says. He supposes it is kind of cute.

"Do you love her?" asks Harriet. Archie stares at her for a moment while he tries to recover from the way the question had made his stomach swoop. Way to catch him off guard. Harriet looks at him expectantly. She's not joking.

Archie clears his throat. "Of course," he says. "We're best friends."

Harriet tilts her head, her eyes flash with amusement.

"Come on, Archie, we won't tell," Andrea teases. Archie is pretty sure his face is bright red.

"I'm going to see if Betty needs help with the drinks," Archie says, standing up abruptly. He can hear Harriet and Andrea cackling as he walks away, his face burning. He knows his reluctance to answer the question probably gives him away anyway. Apparently, everyone can tell how stupidly in love with Betty he is, apart from Betty herself.

He rests his hand on her back when he reaches her at the bar, to let her know he's there. She turns to him and smiles.

"Everything okay?" she asks.

"Yeah," he nods. "Just thought I'd see if you need a hand."

"They're making our drinks now."

"Cool."

He wonders if Andrea and Harriet are watching them right now. He wonders if his body language is letting them know exactly how much he likes her.

"I'm glad you came, Arch," Betty says. "My friends have been pestering me to meet you for ages."

"Yeah?" he asks. She's told him this already, but it still pleases him.

"Yeah. I guess I talk about you a lot," she shrugs. She must spot something alarming over his shoulder because her eyes widen and she looks aghast.

"What's wrong?" Archie asks, whipping his head around.

"Don't look!" she hisses.

Archie turns back to her. "What?"

"Kiss me," she demands. Archie's stomach does a somersault.

" _What_?"

"Kiss me, my asshole cheating ex is walking this way," Betty urges. Archie can't work out if she's serious or not. He turns around again. He sees a lanky blonde guy walking towards them.

"That's the guy who cheated on you?" Archie asks, fists already forming. He'd like to sock it to the dumb asshole who hurt Betty.

" _Archie_ ," Betty huffs. He turns back to her, and in a split second he finds her hands on his face and her mouth on his. He can't breathe. Her lips are soft and insistent against his, and she tastes like the gin she'd been drinking earlier.

He's vaguely aware in the back of his mind that this kiss isn't real. It's some kind of show for Betty's ex. But right now, he doesn't care. He kisses her back, letting her set the pace, but desperately aching for more. Somehow he finds his arms around her waist, while hers circle around his neck. He forgets for a moment that they're in a crowded bar in New York City. Until someone interrupts them by clearing their throat loudly.

Betty and Archie break apart. His lips feel swollen and his head feels dizzy, though he's had nothing to drink. His heart pulses rapidly in his chest.

"Betty," says the asshole ex. He doesn't look impressed.

"Kane."

 _What a stupid name,_ Archie thinks. Kane eyes him with contempt.

"You're Archie," Kane says. Archie blinks in surprise. Kane turns back to Betty and Archie reaches for her hand protectively.

"What are you doing here Kane?" Betty asks.

"Max told me you'd be here. I was going to ask you to give me another chance."

"You're too late," Betty scoffs. "I'm with Archie now."

"Yeah, I can see that," Kane snorts. "So it seems I was right to be worried after all."

"You're the one who cheated, Kane, not me. So why don't you get back up on the high horse you rode in on and ride on out of here."

"We both know that if I hadn't cheated first, you would have the next time you went home to Riverdale," Kane says scornfully. For someone who apparently wants to win Betty back, he's not doing a great job of sucking up.

"How about you back off?" Archie snaps, folding his arms intimidatingly. He can crush this guy to a pulp in seconds if he needs to. "Betty would never do something like that. You're the only cheating piece of shit here."

Kane looks as if he wants to start a fight, but apparently he's smarter than he looks because he just gives Archie a withering look before pushing his way back out of the bar.

"Did he seriously come all the way here just to do a half-ass job of trying to get you back?" Archie scoffs. He looks to Betty. She chews her lip, looking worried.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asks, concerned.

Betty nods. "I'm okay," she says. "About that—about the kiss—"

"Hey, it's alright. I get it. I know you didn't mean anything by it. We're good," Archie smiles. He knows she's not trying to lead him on. She doesn't have a clue how he feels about her, so he can't blame her for using him to get back at her ex. He's happy to be of use.

Betty gives him a half smile back, but she's definitely lost some of her earlier peppiness. "Right," she nods.

They turn back to the bar and find the bartender waiting for payment. They grab the drinks and head back to the table. Archie is pretty sure Andrea and Harriet hadn't witnessed the kiss, or they'd definitely have something to say about it. Archie's skin still thrums with electricity, but he chats and laughs with the girls like everything is totally normal. Like he's not thinking about the kiss. Like he's not thinking about how much he'd like to do it again, over and over and over.

* * *

Three hours later, Betty leads him into her dorm room, which she shares with Andrea.

"I'm not ready to sleep yet. I'm going to see what's going on in the common room, you guys want to join?" Andrea asks.

"No thanks," Betty says. "I'm just going to set Archie's bed up and then we might watch a couple episodes of something."

"Hm," Andrea raises an eyebrow. "You really think you're going to need that floor mattress?"

"You're hilarious," Betty rolls her eyes. "Go away please."

"Put a sock on the door if you don't want me to come in," Andrea cackles as she leaves the room, shutting the door behind her.

Archie feels weird. Off kilter. He never feels awkward around Betty, but right now he isn't sure where he should stand, what he should do with his hands, where he should look. He feels like the room is too small, like no matter where he is he's too close to her.

"I'm going to change," Betty says.

"You want me to wait outside?"

"It's okay. Just… turn around."

Archie does as he's bid.

"Okay, I'm done."

Archie turns around, still feeling strangely awkward. Betty is now dressed in a pair of plaid pyjama pants and a big grey t-shirt.

"You want to watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine?" Betty asks.

"Yes," Archie says. Anything to diffuse the tension between them that he's sure he's imagining.

Betty gets her laptop and opens Netflix. She settles onto her bed, leaving a small amount of space for Archie beside her.

"Can you get the light?" she asks. Archie flicks the light off then makes his way back to Betty, her face illuminated by her laptop screen. He slips his shoes off then crawls onto the bed beside her. She puts his arm around her and leans back against his chest. Archie suddenly feels calm again. The awkwardness is gone. He feels stupid for letting her friends' stupid comments and a jealous ex make him feel uncomfortable around her.

With her body fitted firmly against his, her familiar floral scented shampoo filling his nose, he feels perfectly content. At peace. He takes a breath and smiles to himself. Betty presses play on an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Without moving much at all, Archie presses a kiss to the top of her head, unthinking.

Betty turns her head to look up at him. He almost apologises. But she doesn't look upset, or even confused. Just kind of… questioning. Before he can doubt himself, he leans down and brushes his lips against hers, feather light, and just for a moment. He pulls away, searching Betty's eyes for her reaction. She studies him for a moment. Licks her lips. Then she reaches her hand around to his face, her thumb grazing his cheek. She surges up, catching his lips with hers.

The laptop falls to the side, forgotten, as their kisses grow more heated. Archie's hands find her waist, his fingers on her bare skin where her t-shirt has ridden up. Betty sits up, shifting so that she's straddling his lap. Something jolts, low in Archie's stomach, his arousal stirring.

"Betty," he says. "Betty, wait." He pulls his lips away from hers, and Betty rests her forehead against his, her hair falling around their faces. "I love you so much, you know that, right?"

He feels Betty nod. "Arch," she says, her voice trembling. He takes that to mean _I love you too_. He's pretty sure she's been saying it for years, every time she says his name like that. He kisses her again, long and slow, like they've got all the time in the world.

They don't though. The door bursts open and the light flickers on, and Andrea appears in the doorway.

"I told you to put a sock on the door!" she exclaims.

Betty groans and drops her head to Archie's shoulder.

"Hi, again, Andrea," Archie says wryly.

"You do love her then?" Andrea says, all too smugly. Archie nods bashfully. "Harriet and I only wanted to know because we were sick of Betty moping that you didn't love her back."

Archie presses his lips against Betty's hair. "You were moping?" he asks, and he's never been more delighted to hear about her misery.

"I wasn't moping," Betty says. She crawls off his lap to sit beside him, much to his disappointment.

"You do love me though, right?" Archie whispers. Betty nods. Archie threads his fingers through hers.

"Guess you guys won't be needing that floor mattress after all, huh?"


End file.
